


Mileven's Scrapbook

by Giulsy



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Coming of Age, Cuddles, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Growing Up Together, Headcanon, Kissing, Love, Romance, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-06-08 00:37:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15231540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Giulsy/pseuds/Giulsy
Summary: A bunch of mileven one shots. Missing moments and lot of love.From Chapter 1:"Mike immediately covered their joined hands with his other one and started to stoke her palm.“Hey, hey, I wasn’t serious, it was just a joke. You could never. I mean, hurt me.” Mike said in hurry, being afraid of having make her sad, even if just for a moment.“I was just having fun to see you blushing. You’re pretty when you do that, ya know.” He added, smiling.She looked at him very deeply in the eyes, holding his hand a little bit more and she bit her lip.“You’re always pretty.” "





	1. Of warm hands and (mis)understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike has something very important to ask El ...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody!  
> This is my very first attempt to write a Mileven collection of stories.  
> Most of them are my personal headcanons for some moments and scenes I would love to see in S3, but some missing moments are gonna be included too.  
> As always, I wanna clarify that English is not my first language, so there are probably gonna be some mistakes, and I apologie for this to all of you.  
> Anyway, I hope you will enjoy these short stories! <3  
> Love,  
> Giulsy.

There was a pale sun to welcome December that year in Hawkins, Indiana.  
The air was clean and crisp, ready for the snow to come, and Christmas lights, as well as people dressed as Santa Claus, were starting to appear everywhere, from Melvald’s to the Hockey Field.  
That had always been Mike’s favorite time of the year, (as well as the beginning of Summer Holidays, of course) because it was filled with some of the things he liked the most: his mother’s special Christmas cookies, new videogames to play at the Arcade with his friends and the annual Star Wars movies’ marathon at The Hawk.  
Despite all of this, anyway, the previous year had definitely been an exception: Mike could barely remember anything about that Christmas or, at least, anything happy.  
The events of November, 1983, had been clearly too much for being forgotten or processed in some way: all Mike had been able to think about was … _her_.  
He just hadn’t been able to believe how she had just disappeared, without leaving a trace, after saving everyone’s life with her bravery.  
And, _oh God_ , how much he’d missed her!  
Something inside of him had clicked during that week that he had spent with her, even if he wasn’t able to explain that in a rational way.  
She had made her first appearance in his life during a stormy night and she had made her way into his heart with her sweet, hazel eyes and her unique way of understanding everything with a single glance: for Mike, she had been a storm of her own.  
After their last “goodbye”, Mike had felt completely empty: he couldn’t sleep without having terrible nightmares, he couldn’t eat without feeling sick, he couldn’t even stay in the basement without his friends, that had been, of course, helpful, even if he had never really talked to them of his true feelings.  
It was too complicated: they just wouldn’t have been able to understand.  
Mike himself couldn’t even do that properly.  
But that year, things were finally different: she was back, she was back for real and, even if more than a month had passed, Mike still had to mentally repeat to himself that it was all real.  
Yes: El was back again.  
  
  
That Sunday morning of early December, Mike was heading towards the woods, with his hands firmly planted on his bike, riding it as fast as he could.  
He was actually feeling a little shaky, both because of the few hours of sleep and because of the emotion.  
That was only the second time he was traveling that specific road and the first one he was doing that on his own: when Hopper had brought him through the woods with his van a few weeks before, he had tried his best to memorize the path they were following, so that he could be able to reach the small Cabin all by himself. The fact that he actually could just go on his bike and see her still felt like daydreaming.  
He tightened the scarf around his neck a little bit, as he felt chills running down his back: he wasn’t sure it was because of the cold or because he was almost there.  
He saw the large oak, the one he’d learned to recognize as the beginning of the final stretch of the road.  
And, in effect, here he was: after a few more minutes of riding, he started to see the shape of that small, wooden building and a big smile started to appear on his lips.  
He got off the bike, approaching the few steps of the Cabin’s small porch, and he suddenly started to feel nervous.  
_-“What if she says no? What if she think I’m an idiot? What if she doesn’t remember?”-_  
These were the questions that were currently driving him crazy.  
Because Mike wasn’t there just to see and visit her … well, of course, he loved doing that: he loved spending time with her, more than anything else in the world, and every time he had to come back to his house he felt terrible, because after that last year he just couldn’t bear to be separated from her.  
But today was different: he was going to ask her if she wanted to come to the Snowball with him.  
He’d tried to do that the previous time they had met at the Cabin, but it just wasn’t the right time, ‘cause it was the first time they’d been together since the Gate’s closure: there were too many things to be said between the two of them.  
After taking a deep breath, Mike made the secret knock Hopper had taught him last time he’d been there and he waited, trying to calm himself down.  
  
  
“Hey, Wheeler! Morning person, uh?”  
“Good Morning, sir.”  
Mike and Hopper’s relationship was definitely … _weird_ ; the boy was trying his best to make sure he could trust him, but, on the other hand, he still couldn’t really trust the Chief himself, after everything that happened.  
They were working on it, but they needed time.  
“Come in, kid, she kicked me out of my bed this morning while waiting for you.”  
Mike immediately blushed as he heard those words, but they made his heart flutter.  
The Cabin was quite as usual, and filled with the familiar scent of Eggos, wood and cinnamon and Mike felt a warm, beautiful feeling, outside and inside.  
“Mike!”  
He turned around to see her and he suddenly felt even warmer: a radiant light was shining from the curly girl’s eyes as she was staring at him, with some baggy jeans and a pale green sweater on and the most beautiful smile on her face.  
Mike couldn’t help but chuckle, before getting closer to her and saying, sweetly “Hi, El!”  
They stayed like this for a few seconds, just smiling at each other and enjoying that sense of relief for being reunited once again.  
Then, El looked away from Mike for a moment, giving Hopper, who was still standing beside them and was rolling his eyes because of their acting, an explanatory look.  
The bearded man seemed to get it, as he awkwardly cleared his throat, before buttoning up his coat and saying “Uhm … well, I think I’m gonna go outside to smoke.”  
Then, he gazed at Mike and said “Behave kid, you know.”  
Mike’s cheeks went on fire as he understood Hopper’s implication and, for a moment, he just wanted to bury himself somewhere far away from there.  
Needless to say he changed his mind right after, when he felt El’s small arms around his neck and could feel his honey-colored curls right under his nose.  
“I’m happy. You’re here, finally.” she said, with a shaky voice.  
Mike gently stroked her hair, inhaling and scent as he was trying to tattoo it on his nostrils.  
He loved it, it smelled like home.  
And he was amazed by how easy was for him to just use the word “love” while thinking about her.  
“I’m happy too, El. I couldn’t wait to see you.”  
She gently took his hand and led him towards the couch, where Mike immediately saw her teddy bear and some narrative books.  
They sat next to each other, being comfortable in their closeness, and they stayed silent for a moment.  
Mike’s leg started to tremble, as it always did when he was nervous, so he tried to distract himself by taking a long breath and smiling at the pretty girl beside him.  
“What are you watching?” he said, pointing at the TV.  
El blushed and she immediately changed the channel with a flick of her head, desperately trying to hide the episode of the soap “Loving” from Mike’s eyes.  
However, when she looked at him again, she realized that she hadn’t been fast enough: a big grin was painted on the dark-haired boy’s lips and she looked away for hiding her rising embarrassment.  
“Seriously El? You’re watching that stuff again?” he said, without being able of hiding his amusement.  
“I’m not!”  
“Oh, yes, you are!” Mike answered, with the biggest sneer.  
“No!”  
“Friends don’t lie, El. You’re hurting me, you know.” The boy said back, with a look of fake indignation painted on his face.  
El didn’t get the joke and her eyes widened in worry as she took Mike’s hand in her own, warm one.  
Seeing that, Mike immediately covered their joined hands with his other one and started to stoke her palm.  
“Hey, hey, I wasn’t serious, it was just a joke. You could never. I mean, hurt me.” Mike said in hurry, being afraid of having make her sad, even if just for a moment.  
“I was just having fun to see you blushing. You’re pretty when you do that, ya know.” He added, smiling.  
She looked at him very deeply in the eyes, holding his hand a little bit more and she bit her lip.  
“You’re always pretty.” He said then, almost whispering, but she heard him and those words hit her right in her heart.  
Words weren’t needed in that moment, so El, just got closer to him, placing her head on his chest and keeping their hands joined.  
Mike’s heart was beating so hard he was actually worried it could have disturbed her.  
  
  
They stayed like that, warming each other with their embrace, and talking about what they’d done in the last weeks.  
Mike told her about Holly’s Santa’s letter and about the last time he and the rest of the Party had gone to the Arcade, noticing how El had tensed up when he’d mentioned Max and taking a mental note to talk about her weird reaction to the redhead girl next time, while El herself told him about all the books she had read and how she’d loved “Little Women”, the first book that Nancy had given to her.  
Their whispered conversation was just so comfortable they didn’t even noticed that an hour had passed already and that it wasn’t long until Mike should have come back to his house.  
It was actually Hopper to awake them from the daydream they’d fallen into, getting back into the house and pretending to be busy with some firewood, so that he was now going back and forth between outside and inside the house.  
When Mike looked at his watch and saw the hour, he instantly remember the main reason why he’d come there that day: the Snowball.  
_-Oh God, how do I start this?-_  
Mike looked at her, that was still glued to his chest, and waited until he saw Hopper outside the window that was actually cutting some stumps.  
“Mmm … El?” he said, caressing her cheek with his right hand.  
“Yes, Mike?”  
“Uhm … well I … I was … Actually I …”  
El raised herself up, hearing him stuttering and she looked at him with a questioning look on her face.  
“Ehm, well, the thing is … next weekend, there is going to be some event at school …” Mike said, looking away.  
El frowned even more, not really getting what he wanted to say.  
“You know, since It’s winter, there is gonna be … you know, the Snowball …and I was thinking that we … well …”  
When she heard “Snowball”, El’s world stop for a moment, because she had _relied_ on that single word that held a promise for an entire year and hearing that now again, with Mike right in front of her and their hands joined just like the year before was too much to handle.  
Warm tears started to stream down her face and her just wasn’t able to stop them.  
Mike panicked almost immediately, starting to wipe her tears with some gentle caresses and holding her closer.  
“Oh my God El, I didn’t mean … That was just a stupid idea, I didn’t want to make you feel bad, really, I promise. I was just thinking about that because of what happened last year in the cafeteria and … Oh, shit I’m so stupid!”  
Mike couldn’t get himself together: he couldn’t stand to see her cry, especially for his stupid words.  
El looked at him again and she chuckled softly as she saw him panicking, ‘cause he clearly didn’t get the reason of her reaction.  
She put her hands on Mike’s, that were currently on her cheeks and, after smiling again, she closed the distance between the two of them, kissing him softly on the lips.  
Mike’s eyes widened in surprise, but after a second he closed them and put his hands back in her hair to hold her closer, feeling alive in that kiss like never before.  
That was the first time El had kissed him first and, with that single, innocent kiss and with the look they shared right after that, Mike understood.  
_They always understood._  
“I’d love to Mike. I mean … to be your d-ate?” El said, with her hands around his shoulders.  
“Really?” Mike asked, with the scent of her still on his lips and in every part of his heart.  
“Promise.”

 


	2. Bittersweet First Dates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike and El: a date, the Mall, a lot of ice cream and misunderstandings.

“Shit, shit, shit!”  
“Michael! Language!”  
The atmosphere in the Wheeler’s household was definitely hectic that morning.  
Mike was running all around the house, from the basement to his room, gripped by an anxiety that was rising every minute more.  
He couldn’t help it, though: that wasn’t a day like any other at all.  
He made his way back to the bathroom upstairs and locked the door, for the third time, and stared at his reflection in the mirror.  
“Oh, God, I look like a mess!” he exhaled out of stress.  
His hair didn’t want to collaborate in any way and the increasing summer heat was starting to make it fuzzy as hell; not to mention the pimple that had decided to make its appearance on his chin right on that day and the navy blue shirt he’d wanted to wear on which Holly had spilled a whole cup of orange juice just minutes before.  
“Keep calm, Mike, you have to keep calm.” The dark-haired boy repeated to himself, while running his hands into his thick locks, in a last attempt to make them look better. Then, he quickly changed himself in a short-sleeved, light yellow shirt that he thought made him look like a dork, but that was the only “semi-formal” and not too warm thing that he could find clean in his closet.  
The reason of Mike’s state of mind was the fact that, in that particular day, he was going to have his first date with El.  
He’d found the courage to finally ask her out the week before, a few days after Hopper had said that it was safe now for her to start hanging out a little, without drawing too much attention.  
Now that the day had arrived, Mike couldn’t help but feel nervous, ‘cause he just wanted everything to be perfect, while life seemed to just be against him that morning.  
He kept staring at his face in the mirror, thinkin’ about what his friends had said to him the last time they’d hanged out together, just the four of them, like the old days.  
  
  
_They were all in the basement, not really playing or anything, just lying down, on the couch and on the rugs, and enjoying the cool air in the room.  
“So, did you do that?” Dustin asked Mike with a suggestive tone from the floor, while studying the light that was passing through a marble in his hand. “  
What?” the boy said back, turning his face to the wall and blushing.  
“Oh, come on Wheeler, you know what I’m talkin’ about.” The curly haired boy said.  
“Yes, you know dude, that little thing called “asking El to be your girlfriend since you are already practically a thing” that we are all wondering when you’re going to do.”  
Lucas said, grinning from the rug he was currently sat on.  
“Oh, look who’s talking! The one who waited until last month to ask Max out!” Mike snapped, his cheeks bright red now, while Lucas made gave him an eye roll.  
“Yes, but he did at least, Mike. And you should too. We all know how you feel about her.” Will said, with a quiet voice, always and truly the Wise one.  
“And how she feels about you too. You two could stare at each other in that lovey-dovey way that makes me wanna throw up sometimes.” Dustin kept saying.  
Mike gave him a scowl look, and the other boy immediately sat up, saying: “But I still find you two cute.”  
Mike rolled his eyes.  
“Well, anyway … Okay, I’ll ask her out, but … then? What should I say?”  
“What do you mean?” Will asked him, a confuse look on his face.  
“I mean … I just ‘drop the bomb’? I take her out and I go like ‘hey El, would you be my girlfriend?’” Mike said then, getting up from the couch and starting to walk around the room. “  
Uhm, yes?” Dustin said, looking up at him with his arms open.  
“Isn’t that the point?” Will added.  
“It is … But I don’t know, I just want that to be … well, nice, I guess? For her?”  
Dustin grinned, getting up and putting his hands on Mike’s shoulders, and said:  
“Ohhh our little, helpless romantic Mickey is all grown up.”  
Mike just shake him off, annoyed by his friend’s teasing and threw him one of the pillows that were on the couch.  
The other two boys laughed at that: they were truly a bunch of nerdy dorks.  
Then Lucas stood up as well, with a bag of chips in his hand, and, with a warm smile on his face, said: “Look man, seriously, I’m sure that, whatever you do, it’ll be completely fine. I know you. We all know you. And we got your back.” The boy said, making Mike smile, relaxed.  
“Yes, Mike, and we know her too. She would be happy just to see you and spend time with you, let alone the rest.” Will added.  
“Thank you, guys.” The dark haired boy said then, honestly moved by his friends’ support.  
At that point, Dustin blatantly sat down on the couch and pointed at Mike with his eyebrows raised:  
“You know, Mike, if you want I can give you some of my magical love and relationships tips. I’m a master at that.”  
“Shut up, Dustin.” The other three boys said in unison, bursting into laugh.  
  
  
_ Mike found himself a little relieved after reminding the Party’s words, so he just took a deep breath and got out of the bathroom.  
He took a rapid look at his watch and his eyes widened when he saw that it were already 9.15.  
“Fuck!” he groaned.  
The tall boy rushed downstairs, with his wallet in one hand and trying to fix his collar again with the other one: he was so lost in his thoughts and focused on getting out of the house as soon as he can that he practically ran over his mom, that was currently going in the opposite direction.  
“Oh God, I’m sorry mom.” He said, putting his hand on her shoulder and trying to fix things up.  
Karen, after the initial shock of losing her balance, looked up at his son – _oh My, how was he getting so tall?-_  
“Michael, can you please tell me what’s going on this morning? Where’s your head?” the woman said, with one hand on her hip.  
“Nothing is going on!” he said back, with an annoyed tone, going down the last few steps and picking up his backpack.  
“Nothing? That’s why you’ve been running all over the house for the past hour? Was that for nothing?” Karen said, putting one of her brown locks behind her ear.  
“I’m just late for the Arcade, mom.” Mike said, keeping it vague, and looking at his feet.  
“The Arcade?”  
“Yes. And I better go, the others will be waiting for me.”  
Karen looked at him, raising an eyebrow. “The others?”  
“Yeah, mom, the Party, can I please go now? I’ll be back for lunch, I swear.”  
Mike was definitely starting to get nervous, his left leg starting to tremble as usual when he heard the light beep of his watch that indicated it was now 9.30 am.  
Karen gave him an inquisitive look: the freckled boy in front of her, the one that last year barely reached her shoulder with his head was now turning in this handsome young man and she honestly wasn’t ready to let him go at all.  
She recognized that kind of look, that kind of urge to get out, the anxiety of looking as good as he could. _-Was he dating someone?-_  
She didn’t ask him right away, that was not the moment.  
“Fine. Be home by twelve.” She eventually said.  
“Sure, see you later.” He said, running out of the door, before she could even properly finish her sentence.  
_-My God, they grow up so fast-_ she thought, holding Holly between her arms.  
  
  
The sun of July was hitting him hard on his back, while he was biking through that well-known path in the wood.  
He had several sweat on his forehead, so he mentally thanked himself for bringing some tissues in the backpack. _-  
Come on, Mike. You can do this.-  
_ He had all set up for that day: he was now going to pick her up at the Cabin, then they would have gone together at the Mall to have some ice cream.  
After that, Mike would have taken her back to her house.  
Easy peasy.  
Yes … except that it wasn’t easy at all.  
He still didn’t know exactly how to ask her _that_ question and just the thought of it was making him blush furiously.  
He approached the space in front of the Cabin with his bike, which was getting too small for his long limbs, and after trying to check on him by mirroring in a small paddle from the last night’s rain and removing some of the sweat from his face, he reached the door.  
When he heard that familiar noise of the door itself being unlocked, his heart made a jump in anticipation and it flipped even harder when a pair of bright eyes met his own. “Mike! I was waiting for you!” El said, with her light voice that Mike could spend hours listening to, especially when she was saying his name after all those months of silence on the other side of the super-com.  
She tightened  her arms around his waist, getting up on her toes to reach his shoulder and to place her head right there.  
“Hi, El. I’m sorry I am a little bit late, it wasn’t my fault.” The boy said to her, holding her closer to his chest with one hand and stroking her soft locks with the other.  
El looked up at him, smiling and shaking her head a bit, to let him know there was no problem about it.  
“Is Hopper home?” Mike said then, glancing at the inside of the Cabin from the small porch where they were standing.  
“No, he’s already at the Station, he said he had some things to … de-a-l with?” she said, uncertain about the words she was using: she was still struggling with her vocabulary, but the progresses she had made in such a small amount of time were incredible; Mike was honestly so unbelievably proud of her.  
“Got it. Well … Should we go, then?” he asked her, with anxiety that was now rising inside of him again after being nearly disappeared when the girl had hugged him just minutes before.  
El nodded, with a warm smile, and followed him back to his bike.  
While they were walking side to side, Mike took a moment to really look at her: she was wearing a light blue summer dress that reached her knees, leaving her arms uncovered, while her hair was curlier than usual.  
“By the way, you look amazing today.” Mike said almost whispering, helping her to get on his bike.  
El bushed and looked at the ground, with a huge smile on her lips.  
“Pretty?”  
“Yes.” He smiled back at her, as he got up as well and started to ride again.  
The ride to the Mall was quiet: they didn’t talk too much, enjoying some comfortable silence instead.  
She had her hands around his waist, holding him, and Mike could feel her warm breath near his ear: he felt so happy he just couldn’t stop smiling.  
El, on her side, was the happiest girl in the world: the fact that she was finally able to go outside, to _live_ outside and to spend that time with Mike, like a normal girl with a normal life, was truly amazing.  
When they finally reached the Mall, Mike was happy to see that it didn’t seem to be too crowded that morning: El didn’t like loud noises, so she would for sure enjoy that place better when it was quieter, just like now.  
“You ready?” he gently asked her, taking her hands in his own and blushing a little.  
“Sure.” The curly haired girl answered, stroking his warm hand back.  
  
  
That place was huge: this was El’s first thought as they entered into the building.  
They were surrounded by every kind of shops, with multicolored neon signs; there were benches, big hallways and even a fountain: El looked around her, getting lost in all those new things to experience, while Mike was getting lost as well, but by looking at her.  
He was catched by the way her mouth widened in surprise and he couldn’t help but sigh happily, ‘cause she deserved all of it and so much more.  
He couldn’t wait to give that ‘more’ to her. To give her the normal life she deserved.  
“El?” he gently called her, trying not to ruin that moment “Where do you want to go first?”  
She looked up at him, tightening her lips while thinking, until her gaze stopped on a spot on the other side of the hallway.  
“What’s that?” she said, pointing in that direction.  
“Oh, well, those are claw-machines. Basically you can win one of those puppets that are inside if you manage to pick it up with that thing.”  
Mike explained as best as he could.  
El’s eyes lit up when she heard that. “Can I get one, Mike?”  
Mike smiled, noticing her enthusiastic mood for something that was that simple, and he immediately nod, letting her drag him through the hall.  
Mike approached the machine that was in the middle, taking some quarters from his wallet, and he pointed at the stuffed animals behind the glass.  
“Which one do you like the most?”  
El took her chin behind two fingers, thinking about that, and, in the end, she pointed at one little pink elephant that had some sort of hat on one of its ears.  
“Pretty.” She said, looking in its direction.  
Mike chuckled: _she was so adorable!_  
“Perfect, let’s get this. It will be in your hands in a heartbeat.”  
The boy said, starting to move the little levers with his hands.  
Except that it really wasn’t an heartbeat. Not even ten, actually.  
That damn thing just couldn’t catch anything, no matter how hard Mike tried.  
“Oh shit, how is that possible?! I was so close!” he said in frustration, after like the fifteen attempt to get that elephant.  
Meanwhile, El had been staring at him, with a small grin painted on her lips as she observed the tall boy in his fight with that machine.  
When she started to notice he was getting kind of …angry?  _-was that the right word?-_  she got closer to him and put one hand on his shoulder, to make him look in her direction.  
“Mike, it’s okay. It doesn’t matter, really.” She said, trying to light up his mood.  
“No, it’s not. I swear, the next one is gonna be the lucky one.” Mike said, running one hand on his forehead.  
El shook her head, keeping her smile on: she noticed how frustrated he was and she desperately wanted to fix things up so they just could enjoy the rest of their morning together.  
So, she focused on the claw, intensifying her gaze, and it immediately went down to the elephant, holdin’ it.  
“Yes! I told you it was gonna work. Here it is.” Mike said, his face radiant for that small victory.  
“Thanks Mike. I love it.” She said, trying to cover his nose as fast as she could and holding the little animal in her hands.  
She wasn’t fast enough to hide the well-known stream of blood, though: Mike looked at her face and he started to panic, not really getting what was going on.  
“Oh my God, El, you’re bleeding, are you okay? Is something wrong?” he almost screamed, checking on her and putting one hand on her cheek.  
He looked pretty confused when he saw she was actually smiling and the moment his gaze stopped on the pink elephant, he understood the whole thing.  
“That … it was you, wasn’t it?” he said, letting out a groan.  
El turned her head, a guilty look painted on her face, and that was enough of an answer.  
“El …” Mike started to say, sighing, but she interrupted him before he could finish his sentence.  
“I’m sorry, Mike, really, I just wanted you to stop being angry and to smile again like you did before.” Mike’s heart warmed up at her apologizing tone and look and he got closer to her, putting his hands on her slim shoulders.  
“Are you mad at me?” she said, looking sincerely mortified. “  
What? No, no way. Just… Just don’t use your powers in public. It could be dangerous and I don’t want you to get in any kind of troubles.” The boy said, smiling at her.  
“Deal!” El said to him, taking one of his hand and adding, with a new enthusiasm in her voice “Come on, let’s go take that ice cream!”  
Mike followed her, smiling as well, but with some sick sensation in his stomach that he couldn’t send away.  
He wasn’t mad at her, not at all. He was angry at himself, if anything, ‘cause he didn’t manage to get her what she wanted on his own.  
However, he decided to just ignore that feeling, to have fun for the rest of the morning.  
  
  
“No way. Chocolate definitely beats vanilla. That’s just a law of nature.”  
“Oh, God, Dustin why every stupid discussion has to become a matter of life and death.” Lucas said, becoming bitter.  
“It IS mortally important, Lucas.” Dustin snapped, licking some of the ice cream from his cone.  
Lucas rolled his eyes and he came back to pay attention to his own ice cream as well, while Will laughed at their silly spat.  
The three of them were all sitting at a round table, eating their ice creams that felt so good in that hot summer morning.  
That ice cream Parlor at the Mall had opened just a few weeks before and it had immediately become one of The Party’s favorite places to hang out, especially after they’d all found out that Steve was currently working there, and that meant a lot of free cones for all of them.  
“And, by the way, Lucas, there’s no need to be so touchy about everything. It’s not my fault if Max had to go to her grandparents during the week of your birthday.”  
Dustin said to his friend, patting him on his shoulder.  
Lucas’ cheeks went on fire as soon as the curly haired boy had finished his sentence and he straightened up on the chair, crossing his arms.  
“What?! I’m not touchy at all, I was just pointing out facts.” The boy said, with a snort.  
Will and Dustin both chuckled at his behavior, while Lucas looked away, trying to hide his embarrassment.  
“Hey, come on, we’re joking, it’s totally normal if you miss her, you know.” Will said, not wanting for him to get hurt.  
Lucas made a thankful, little smile, nodding.  
“Yeah, I know that … It’s just … I don’t wanna sound like an idiot.” He added a moment after.  
Hearing that, Dustin put one hand on his face in a theatrical way.  
“Oh God, you’re talking like Mike now.”    
They all burst into laugh at that, as their ice creams was starting to slowly melt.  
Lucas spoke up again after a bit, looking through the big glass door of the parlor.  
“I hope he’s doing fine, though. With El, I mean.”  
“He sure does.” Will pointed out.  
“Who knows what they’re doing right now.”  
  
Well, actually Mike and El were just a few meters away from them, sitting as well at a round table on the other side of Schoops Ahoy.  
El was happily licking her strawberry and caramel ice cream cup, while Mike had just got his own cone.  
“You like it?” Mike said, without being able to stop looking at her: she looked so relaxed and that was all he’d ever wanted.  
El made a little moan of appreciation, nodding, with her lips and chin covered in colored cream.  
“Oh I can see that, actually!” Mike laughed, taking a tissue and starting to clean her mouth with a gentle touch.  
El looked down, amazed by how he was managing to be so delicate, and felt butterflies in her stomach.  
And, to be honest, that happened every time she saw him or even just thought about Mike.  
“That’s better. By the way, you should definitely try this one.” Mike pointed at his ice cream  
“It’s Maple-extravaganza, my favorite. It tastes like Eggos, in some way, so I guess you’d love it.”  
El almost dropped his cone when he heard that. “Really? Like Eggos?”  
“Sure. Here, try it.” Mike reached his arm, encouraging El to taste that flavor with a nod; she leaned towards him and the moment she licked that sweet, brownie cream her eyes widened.  
“That’s amazing. I think I have a new favorite thing ever.” El almost screamed, in an enthusiastic way that made Mike’s heart fly.  
“Oh, I might be jealous, then.” Mike said with a low tone, biting his lower lip.  
El laughed at that, reaching for his hand and holding it under the table.  
“Well, since you have that ice cream in your hand right now, then you actually are definitely my favorite.”  
She leaned in again, but this time her gaze was fixed on Mike’s face, on Mike’s lips.  
It’d been a while since their last kiss, mostly because almost every time they’d seen each other, it had been along with the rest of the Party and Max and, even when Mike had managed to spend some afternoons after school alone with her, Hopper had been around and Mike really didn’t want to give him some good reasons to use his gun against him. But, now, it was just the two of them.  
Mike leaned in as well, closing the small gap between their lips and he kissed her, cupping her face with his free hand.  
He could feel an explosion of goosebumps all over him as he felt El’s soft mouth under his own: he couldn’t get enough of her.  
They kissed for just a few seconds, but that was enough to leave them both breathless.  
“Wow.” The boy exhaled, still holding her cheek.  
El laughed again, with a little blush on her cheekbones and he wished she could do that forever.  
He loved that sound.  
He got lost in her eyes again while they were finishing their ice creams and, in that exact moment, he felt something inside his chest that just told him the moment was there.  
_\- Come on Mike, that’s your occasion-_  
“Ehm … El?”  
“Yes?”  
“I’m … Well I …”  
El frowned, noticing that he was starting to shake his leg, like he did every time he was nervous.  
“Mike?”  
“Uhm… I am very happy you’re here, with me.” He said eventually, gazing away and inspiring, while mentally trying to find the actual words to say what he was dying inside to say.  
_-Gosh, why is this so difficult?-_  
“Me too.” She answered after a moment, putting one hand on Mike’s knee.  
“Oh well, this feels like a deja-vu.” Mike said, chuckling, as he remembered that time of almost two years before, in the basement’s bathroom, when he’d start to realize in a full way what she really meant to him.  
She smiled back at him, nodding.  
El was so beautiful in that moment: the sun was hitting her face in the best way possible, making her hazel eyes brighter than usual, while her curls was lightly moved by the breeze that came from outside the windows.  
He was completely lost for her.  
Mike took another deep breath and held El’s hand in his own, trying to find enough courage to just speak up.  
“Well, I actually wanted to … to ask you something?” he tried, looking down at the table.  
Noticing how nervous he was getting, El stroke his palm and asked, with a worried tone: “Is something wrong?”  
“What? No! No, nothing’s wrong. It’s just … I can’t really find the right words.” Mike immediately reassured her, licking his lips.  
“Oh. I see, you don’t have to worry.”  
“I don’t, it’s okay really. I … Well, El, you know, what we’ve done a few minutes ago …Ehm..”  
“You mean kissing?” she said, starting to get even more confused .  
“Yes, yes, kissing … Well even the fact that we’re here together today … All of that, actually …”  
“I’m sorry Mike, I don’t understand.” She said, sounding mortified and Mike hated himself for that.  
“The thing is … what we have, I mean, between us-”  
But the boy couldn’t finish his sentence, ‘cause he felt a strong pat on his shoulder and a well-known voice in his ear.  
“Well, well, well, isn’t that Mike Wheeler on a date?” Steve was standing beside him, in his sailor styled uniform, and with what it seemed like a bag full of sugar in his right hand. “Steve!” Mike groaned, unable to hide his frustration, while El greeted the elder teen with a smile.  
“Hi Ellie! How are you guys doing?” the young man said, keeping a big smile on his face.  
“Great, until you came here.” Mike said, bitter, putting one hand on his forehead.  
“Come on, Wheeler, don’t be such a jerk. A smile never killed nobody, ya know.” Steve said, without being intimidate by Mike’s tone at all.  
“Yeah, well, good morning Steve, the sky’s blue, the summertime’s in bloom, you seems to be doing great, we’re happy for you, okay, bye.”  
Mike said, his sassiness coming to light through every word.  
“Wowowo slow down Wheeler, I got it. I’m sorry Ellie, I guess I have to leave you alone with this fine fellow here. Hope your ice cream was amazing.” Steve said, looking at the girl and starting to walk away from the table.  
_-Thank God-_ Mike thought, but he couldn’t even manage to turn back to El that another familiar voice made its appearance.  
“Steve!”  
“Hey buddy!” Dustin was standing just a few steps away from them, followed by both Will and Lucas, as they were heading towards Steve himself.  
“Look, Mike, the guys are here.” El said, waving at them: she hadn’t seen them in a while, actually.  
“Oh no, why me.” Mike whispered to himself, exasperated.  
Meanwhile, El was still holding his hand under the table and that was the only thing that was cheering him up a little: his moment, their moment was ruined.  
“Oh oh, look at those two little love birds right here” Dustin himself said, walking towards Mike and El.  
“Love b-irds?” El asked Mike, a questioning look on her face.  
“Just ignore him, El.”  
“Hey El, it’s good to see you.” Will addressed her, getting closer to give El a Hug, immediately followed by Dustin and Lucas.  
“Looking good, Ellie.” The curly haired boy added “Did lover boy right here treat you well?”  
“Lover boy?” she turned to Mike again.  
Mike shook his head, as he started to give his friends some of his best suggestive looks to make them go away. He even tried to mouth something at Lucas, while El was busy listening to Dustin’s ideas about ice creams’ flavors, but the other boy didn’t get the hint.  
But the worst had yet to come; in fact, a few minutes later, Dustin, like it was a matter of fact, got closer to El and said, using a provocative tone:  
“So, El, how does it feel now that everything’s out and official?”  
“What?” she said, raising her left eyebrow.  
“What does ‘what’ mean? I talk about Mike, obviously.”  
“What’s wrong with Mike?” El was worried for real right now.  
“Nothing’s wrong!” Mike put his head on the table, completely lose hearted.  
“Oh, no, El, what I mean is how does it feel to finally be Mike’s girlfriend.” Dustin kept saying with a grin.  
“DUSTIN SHUT UP!” Mike was definitely screaming at that point and his reaction, along with El’s confused as hell face, made Dustin understand that he’d said something wrong, for sure.  
El’s gaze was going from an exhausted Mike to her friends, that all had a shocked look on their faces.  
“G-girlfriend?” she asked then, frowning so hard it was hard to believe.  
Dustin’s blue eyes widened and he put both of his hand into his hair. “Oh, fuck, you didn’t do it yet.” He said out of his breath, not daring to look at Mike in the eyes.  
“No! No I didn’t! I was about to do that, but first Steve and then all of you had come here and I couldn’t even find the words!”  
“Oh God, he’s freakin’ out.” Lucas said, covering his eyes with one hand.  
And, yes, he definitely was: his cheeks was bright red, his hair was a mess from his hands that had run through it in the last ten minutes and it seemed like he was about to explode. Literally.  
“What’s going on?! Can someone please tell me?” Now was El’s turn to raise her voice, even if it didn’t happen very often, but she was really starting to get frustrated as the arguing went on.  
Mike looked at her, looked at the girls of his dreams and he felt awful for how things was turning out: that was supposed to be perfect and nice for her.  
For both of them, actually.  
“I … I think I need some air. I’m sorry.”  
He didn’t even heard what the others were saying as he rushed outside the Parlor, heading towards the terrace that was at the end of that hallway.  
He approached the railing, taking a moment to breath and looking at the Town that looked kind of  different, yet the same, old Hawkins from that height.  
Mike could feel the tears that was starting to fill his eyes: he felt terrible and, most of all, he didn’t really know what to do.  
Did he have to come back to her right away? Did he have to wait? Would he feel better if he’d let the tears stream?  
_-Does El hate me now?-  
_ All of these questions were playing on Mike’s mind in those moments and time, for a while, just seemed to stop: he felt stuck in some limbo, dying to just have El into his arms again, but unable to move from where he was standing.  
“Hey.” When Mike heard that voice near him, he almost thought he was dreaming; but then he turned around, just to see El standing behind him.  
She had a little smile on her face, but he could recognize the worry in her eyes and he felt something awful in his stomach again.  
“Hi.” Mike answered, as it was the only sensible thing to say.  
She got closer to him, while her skirt was waving in the light summer breeze, just like her hair.  
“What happened, Mike? You’ve been acting so weird … I’m just confused.”  
She was looking at the white floor, holding the hem of her dress in her hand.  
Mike took some time before answering, not really knowing how to explain everything without feeling bad for how that date had turned out.  
“I’m a mess, that’s the thing.” He said eventually, leaning on the wall.  
“I’m a complete mess, El, and I just ruined your first day out. It was supposed to be special.”  
“It was, Mike!” she insisted, taking a step forward in his direction.  
“No, it wasn’t. I … I wanted everything to be perfect for you, I wanted to be able to do everything you wanted to, I would have wanted to get that puppet for you …”  
“Mike, it doesn’t matter” she cut him off, opening her arms.  
“It does, El, it does for me. It does and it’s not just for the puppet. I wanted to give you the best day ever, but everything went wrong. The claw machine, this stupid yellow shirt that makes me look like an idiot and then Steve and the guys and … I just feel like I can’t do the right thing. Like I fail at making you happy.”  
He’d finally said that: he'd let out the feeling that was hurting him from the inside and, as soon as he finished his sentence, some warm tears started to appear on his cheeks.  
El’s heart broke at that sight, and she closed the distance between the two of them, gently stroking Mike’s forearm with her fingers.  
“Mike” -she began- “Are you out of your mind?”  
“I’m just telling the truth, El.”  
El put a finger on his mouth, shutting him up before he could say anything else.  
“Mike, listen to me. You always make me happy. I’ve never been happier than now, actually. I mean, there’s nothing you can do better than making me happy. And you know why?”  
Mike stayed silent, frowning and waiting for El to finish.  
“’Cause it’s you being you that makes me happy. And no one in the world can do that like you do.”  
As she was saying that, she put her arms around his chest, getting even closer to him and she felt immediately better when a shy smile found its way on Mike’s lips.  
“You really mean that?”  
“I promise, Mike.” They smiled at each other, and Mike started to stroke her soft locks, losing himself in her scent again.  
He hold her closer, resting his head on her own.  
That was paradise. That was home.  
They stayed in that comfortable silence for a while, enjoying the breeze that was hitting their bodies in that warm morning. “How are you so amazing?” Mike said first, and he felt her smiling against his chest, and he nuzzled her nose against her scalp.  
“El?” Mike asked again, after a while, his heart beating so fast now he could actually hear it out loud.  
“Yes, Mike?”  
“Well, I … What I was trying to tell you before …”  
She looked up at him, finding the boy’s gaze fixed on her own and she nodded, to make him go ahead.  
“Mmm … do you know what a girlfriend is?” he tried, then.  
“Is that what Dustin was referring to before?” El asked, with a curious tone.  
Mike almost wanted to do an eye-roll, thinking at his friend’s behavior again, but he shook his head to forget it and came back to her.  
“Yeah, yes, it is, actually.”  
“What does that mean?”  
“Well … Well, El, a girlfriend is … yeah, is kind of like a friend, but … more? I mean, you’re supposed to spend some exclusive time with her and to … to go places with her … and to kiss and hold hands with her …”  
Mike was almost whispering at the ending of the sentence and he had to look away from her ‘cause he started to fell embarrassed.  
El’s smile widened as he heard the boy’s word, as a new, knowing feeling was rising up inside of her.  
“Do you go to the Snowball with her?” she said then, grinning.  
Mike almost lose his balance as he heard that and he laughed nervously, before looking back at her.  
“You definitely go to the Snowball with her.”  
El chuckled as well and she parted from him, turning towards the railing again.  
Mike looked in her direction, confused by that gesture, and starting to worry he could have done something wrong again.  
But what he heard right after was enough to make his heart fly.  
“Am I your girlfriend then?” she said, in fact, keeping her look on the view of Hawkins.  
She eventually looked at him, with the biggest smile on her face, but not as big as the one that was painted on Mike’s lips.  
“Oh, my God, yes. Yes. Oh- oh well I mean, if you want to. There’s no pressure, no obligation. You don’t have t-”  
His rambling speech was interrupted by El’s lips, that covered his own with a kiss so passionate that Mike could feel his chest exploding for the overwhelming situation.  
He gently put one of his hand on her back, the other one finding his way on her hips, as their lips slowly moved against each other.  
When they parted from that kiss, their foreheads were still touching: Mike took one of El’s hand and took it to his mouth, brushing her palm softly with his lips.  
“I’m a lucky guy.” He said, holding her even tighter.  
She laughed, as she leaned in again. That was paradise. That was home.

  
  


  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's another one, guys <3  
> I hope you'd like it and, again, if you have any prompts or ideas for the next chapters, let me know.  
> Love, love, love <3  
> Giulsy


	3. Stargazing (on your face)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our two favourite teens, a summer night out in the woods and the clear summer sky.

“Are we there yet?”  
“No, but it’s not that far.”  
“…And now?”  
“No … El, just follow me. I promise you’ll like it.”  
It was right after 9 pm and the only thing to break the silence during that warm summer night was the sound of the hidden cicadas.  
Mike and El were walking through an illuminated path in the woods that the boy seemed to know very well, while she was dying to know where they were heading to.  
In a normal circumstance, they would have never be allowed to stay outside, in the woods, at that time of night, especially alone.  
But, well … let’s just say that both Mike’s parents and Hopper actually did know the truth: they had said them they would have been camping that night and that was exactly what they were going to do.  
The fact that the rest of the Party didn’t actually come and that Steve wasn’t there to check on them was just a detail, nothing more than that.  
Well … technically Hopper would have definitely killed him if he’d found out he’d taken his little girl out in the woods to spend the night there with him in a tent alone, lying about the situation.  
And his mom would have killed him again right after.  
And then he would have been grounded for the rest of his life.  
But she was worth every single risk.  
She was always worth it.  
“Mmm ..”  
“What?”  
“I want to be there already!” she huffed, stomping her feet on the ground and making Mike laugh ‘cause she started to remind him of his little sister’s attitude.  
The boy got closer to her, holding the still dismantled tent in his right hand and putting his left one around her waist, kissing her nose in a playful way.  
“You’re a true rubberneck, ya know that?” he said, then, without letting her go.  
“Rub-ber-neck?” El asked him, frowning.  
“Yes, it means that you enjoy driving your poor boyfriend crazy when he’s just trying to surprise you.”  
“I’m not!” she said back at him, with a small pout on her lips that made Mike want to kiss her forever because of how adorable she looked.  
“Oh, yes you are!” he whispered, getting even closer to her, if that was possible, and rubbing their noses together.  
El grinned at that gesture and put both of her hand around his neck, staying on her toes to reach him: they stayed like that for a few minutes, holding each other in the middle of that path during a mid - summer night.  
It seemed like a dream.  
“Did I tell you that you’re absolutely gorgeous?” Mike said then, breaking the silence with his warm voice.  
She blushed when he heard him saying that: no matter how many times he would call her pretty or beautiful or something else like that, she would never get used to it.  
She would never get used to him, actually.  
He didn’t have to wait for her answer, though, ‘cause she leaned in, pushing his neck towards her, and kissed him.  
That was definitely her favorite thing in the world: having Mike close to her, holding her like she was his only hope, and kissing him, enjoying his soft lips that tasted like home. When they parted after a few seconds, they were completely out of breath: not that it was a surprise.  
“Well, I .. I think we better go or we will never reach our destination.” Mike said, stroking her cheek.  
When she heard that, she almost jumped, fixing the backpack on her shoulder and she started to walk down that path again.  
“Come on, Mike!”  
He burst into laugh as he saw her curiosity rising again and more than before.  
“Hey, hey, wait! You don’t know the way!”  
  
  
They walked for about ten minutes more, holding hands and laughing like fools together.  
“El … El wait a minute, come here.” He said suddenly, while they were approaching a large oak near the end of the path.  
The girl turned around, with a light smile on her lips as she walked towards her boyfriend.  
“What?”  
“Well … I … I know this might sound weird, but I need you to stay here for a moment. And also you … well you should close your eyes. I promise it will be just for a few minute. Please?” Mike explained to her, while rubbing his hands in a nervous way.  
El’s query gaze traveled across Mike’s face, but she didn’t asked further: she smiled at him, nodding, and she walked over him, sitting on the edge of the path and closing her eyes.  
Mike looked down at her, just loosing himself in the sight of her beauty, then ran away, behind the large oak.  
“Okay, let’s start!” he told to himself, as he opened his backpack that was completely filled with all sorts of things that could be necessary for a night of camping.  
He settled down the tent first, struggling a bit with some of the zips, but he eventually managed to do that very quickly.  
Then, he positioned a large, yellow cloth on the ground right beside the oak itself and placed the eggos he had made for her on it, along with some other snacks.  
“And now … the final touch.”  
He pulled a small candle out of his backpack and placed it near the cloth.  
He took a step back to see if everything was okay and he was pretty satisfied with what he’d done.  
“Mike? Is everything okay?” he heard El’s voice saying from where he’d left her and he immediately went back to her, hoping she would have liked that.  
“Hey, I’m here, I’m done.”  
Mike approached her, that was currently sitting with her face fixed on the other side of the road, her eyes still half- closed while she played with some blades of grass.  
“Can I open my eyes now?”  
“Hold on just a little longer.”  
Mike walked even closer to her, holding her hand to get her up and, after that, he put both of his hands on her eyes, starting to guide her near the three.  
“Okay, on the count of three. Is that alright?” Mike whispered directly into her ear, giving her goosebumps.  
She nodded, smiling in anticipation. He got closer to her ear again, starting to spell the numbers slowly, a big grin on his face.  
“One. Two. Three.”  
Mike removed his hands from El’s face and she opened her eyes right after. He could feel her gasping, as she started to walk around the little, lovely corner that Mike had “built” them: she kneeled right beside the cloth, stroking it and smelling the sweet scent of eggos and she felt home more than ever before.  
“This … this is …” she began, whispering.  
“Stupid? You don’t like it, don’t you? Oh my God, I should have-”  
“Pretty. Really, really pretty.”  
Those few words stopped Mike’s rambling immediately, as his cheeks went on fire and he chuckled, letting out a big sigh of relief.  
They looked at each other in the eyes, smiling and just … _knowing_.  
“Would you come here next to me?” El asked, patting the ground beside her.  
She didn’t had to ask it twice: Mike gave her a warm smile and he went to sit against the oak, taking El’s hand in his own and making her seat between his legs, with her head on his chest.  
“Ohh, I like that.” Mike whispered, laughing a little as he started to caress her locks between his fingers.  
“You like me.” She said back, acting shameless and biting her lower lip.  
“Hey. When did you become this sassy?”  
“I’ve learned from the very best.”  
“Are you being shady?”  
“No.”  
“Oh, yes you are!”  
“I’m not!”  
“Yes. But now I’m going to get my revenge!” Mike took both of her hands with his right one, while starting to tickle her with the left on her stomach.  
“NO! No Mike please, no!”  
“That’s what you deserve.”  
“Oh, really? Take this, Wheeler!” El looked at his arm more intensely and Mike started to feel the tickling all over him, so he had to let her go right after, lying down on the cloth. “You cheater!”  
“Well, now we’re even!” she laughed, lying next to him and burying her head in the crook of his neck.  
They kept laughing, feeling totally carefree and happy.  
  


The night went on in the most pleasant way, just like it was every time that the two of them were together: they ate the eggos that Mike had made, talked about Hopper’s last, desperate attempt to bake some cookies and they laughed a lot between cuddles.  
Eventually, they found themselves hugging each other tightly, still lying down, and looking up to the clear summer sky.  
Mike felt peaceful, with everything he needed right into his arms, so he smiled and pressed a soft kiss on El’s forehead.  
They were silent, ludded by their own, slow breaths, when, suddenly, El broke the silence with her sweet voice.  
“Mike?”  
“Yes, El?”  
“What … what are the stars?” Mike frowned when he heard those words, not really getting ‘em.  
“What do you mean?” he asked lookin’ down on his chest to meet her eyes.  
“Well … Of course, I know that those lights up above us are the stars, but … I mean, what are they? Why are they so bright?”  
Mike didn’t answer right after, thinkin’ about which could be the best explanation about the stars to give her and also being intrigued by her girlfriend’s question.  
“Ehm … Well, stars are this kind of … astronomical objects that shine thanks to light of their own and that are millions and millions of light years away from us.  
That’s the thing, I guess.”  
El looked up at him, perching her chin into his chest, processing what she’d just heard and nodding; then, she looked back at the blue sky.  
“They’re pretty.” “Oh yes. They really are.” She didn’t say anything else for a while, and Mike began to worry when he noticed she had started to inspire harder as she opened and closed her mouth multiple times, just like she was trying to say something, but she couldn’t.  
“El? Hey El, what’s wrong?”  
She shook her head, not wanting for him to worry about her and she hugged him even tighter, smelling his sweet scent.  
Mike didn’t say anything, knowing that she would talk to him if something was bothering her, and he just kissed her cheek.  
He really wasn’t ready for what was coming next.  
“You know …” she started to say eventually.  
“What?”  
“I’d never seen them before.” She whispered, barely audible, even if she was really close to his ear.  
“What? The stars?”  
“Yes ..”  
“I … I’m sorry El, I really don’t understand.”  
She let out a sigh then, trying to explain herself in the best way possible.  
“I mean … Before getting out of the lab. I’d never seen them.”  
As soon as he heard those words, Mike felt the sudden urge to cry: he’d always tried to think about El’s previous life of imprisonment as little as possible, ‘cause that really hurt to much.  
He couldn’t bear the thought of her being trapped in that awful place, at the mercy of those horrible human being.  
He just couldn’t, it was too much to handle.  
A warm tear streamed down his cheek, escaping from his still closed eyes, and fell directly onto El’s locks.  
“No, don’t cry, Mike, please.”  
“I’m so sorry, El, really. You deserved a complete different life. It’s so unfair!” he suddenly got up in a sitting position, hiding his face between his hands.  
El looked at him as she started to cry as well, hating to see him like that: she hated when he cried just as much as she loved when he smiled.  
“Mike, look at me please.” She gently put his hands away, revealing his puffy and red eyes, and she sat on his lap to get closer to him.  
“My past may suck, okay, but now I have everything. I have you and that’s a lot more than I deserve.”  
“Oh, well, I wouldn’t say that.” He said, with a bitter laugh.  
“Well, I do. I would scream that.”  
Mike looked at her, amazed by her words and by her beautiful face that the moon light was hitting in the best way possible.  
He kissed her without saying a word, because that wasn’t necessary.  
She smiled on his lips, kissing him back within a minute.  
Before Mike could deepen the kiss, El parted from him, grinning when he heard his frustrated moan: she needed to tell him something though.  
“Do you know why I told you that before? About the stars and the lab?”  
Mike shook his head, a questioning look painted on his face as she held his hand with her own.  
“Well … the thing is … I don’t know how to say that, but … you know, stars remind me of you, in some way.”  
“Of … of me?”  
“Yeah. Well, the first things I noticed about you two years ago were your freckles. I didn’t get what they were at the beginning, I just found them pretty.  
Then I thought back about the little lights in the sky I’d seen while running away from the bad men and I thought that your freckles really remind me of them. When I found out those lights were called ‘stars’, I fell in love with the sound of that name and, until I learned the word ‘ freckle ‘, I’ve always smiled thinking about ‘the stars on your cheeks’.  
I still think it’s cute.” She chuckled, lowering her gaze and blushing.  
Mike felt like he was under some kind of spell as he was listening to her: he had honestly never felt more emotional in his life.  
“And then … well, until today I didn’t really know what the stars actually were, but I’d always loved the light they made.  
While I was hiding in the woods last winter, they gave me a lot of comfort. They made me feel home.  
And then was when I started to think that stars truly remind me of you: not only because of the freckles, but because they made me feel like I was home when I was scared. That’s what you do every time.”  
He was completely lost in her at that point, so he just couldn’t help himself when he hugged her the moment after, burying his face into her shoulders, the tears falling down again.  
“I love you so much, El.”  
“I love you too.”

  


  



	4. "Why don't we kiss like that?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys <3  
> This chapter was made after a request on Tumblr and the title is the prompt itself.  
> It has been already posted on my tumblr page, but I thought it would be nice to publish it on this work, 'cause it's a Mileven one shot as well.  
> I hope you like it <3

It was a lazy and hot summer afternoon in Hawkins, Indiana: every person in that little town seemed to move at a slower pace, as the cicadas were singing their usual tune on the threes.   
Mike and El were running through the desert streets on the boy’s bike, enjoying the small breeze on their tanned cheeks.   
Their destination? “The Hawk”, Hawkins’ movie theater.   
That was the first time for El and she could barely contain her excitement: Mike could tell that by the way she hadn’t finished her last Eggo when he’d arrived to pick her up at the Cabin or seeing how she kept biting her lips to hide her continuous grin.   
She was adorable.   
“Are you ready, El?” he said, turning his head just a bit to let her hear him, but keeping his eyes on the road.  
“Yes. It’s gonna be fun!” she said back, stroking him a little with one of her hands that she had put around Mike’s chest.   
Mike blushed furiously at that action, but, at the same time, he smiled, chuckling a bit.   
_He was so lucky._   
They arrived at the theater about ten minutes after and when Mike parked his bike in front of it they were still laughing because of El’s stories about Hopper’s failed attempt to go shopping for El.   
“I swear, it was exactly like his work uniform, except it was about my size.” She repeated, chuckling, as Mike was doing the same.   
“Come on, let’s get our tickets!” he said then, with a wink.   
She nodded, following him as he approached a little stand where a man in a red uniform was smiling.   
“Two tickets for “The Breakfast Club”.”  
“Here’s to you kid! Enjoy it.”   
“Thanks” Mike answered, smiling politely and giving El his ticket.   
If he had to be completely honest, he would have preferred way more to re-watch “Back to the future” with her, but he was also sure she would have loved “The Breakfast Club”, so he was happy just like that.   
“Let’s go. It’s about to start” he said to her and she nodded, looking at the neon lights in front of her.   
After a moment, Mike took her hand in his own and he led her towards the entrance, but only after smiling in a cheering way: she was happy and excited for sure, but he knew that new experiences always made a little part of her… afraid, in some ways.  
She smiled back at him as they got into the Hawk.   
  
  
“Wow” was the first thing El said when she saw the big room, where lots of seat rows could be seen.   
“This place is … huge!” she said then, looking back at Mike, who smiled, stroking her hair with his other hand.   
“Yes, kind of. It’s a good theater.”   
They approached their seats, which were almost exactly in the middle of the theater, and, before the movie started, Mike offered himself to buy some pop corns, which El happily accepted, as she remembered that time her and Mike had eaten them at the Cabin along with the rest of the Party.   
“Thanks Mike.”   
“That’s nothing, babe.”   
El’s eyes widened when she heard that word - _how was it called? A Nickname?-_ and she looked at him in the eyes.  
Mike was bright red, ‘cause he hadn’t really thought about his words and that name had just slipped out of his mouth in the most natural way.   
“Ehm … I … I mean …. El. I meant El.” He said then, in a hurry.   
She chuckled when he saw him so embarrassed and she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek to let him know that everything was okay.   
Mike let out a shaky breath and he smiled, while El put her head on his shoulder: the movie was about to start.   
As “The Breakfast Club” went on, Mike had to admit to himself that it wasn’t that bad: sure, it wasn’t his “kind of thing” very much, but he actually enjoyed it.   
Maybe it was because of El’s presence, though: with her hair that smelled like vanilla right under his chin and her soft hand in his own, Mike felt _complete_.   
They were already halfway through the movie when Mike noticed that El was starting to act a little weird: she was staring blankly ahead, not really watching the movie she’d seemed to love until that moment anymore.   
Mike looked back at the screen, where the redhead girl named Claire and that guy with the long hair were about to kiss.  
Mike didn’t really get what could it be that was going through El’s mind right then: she looked like she was completely lost in her thoughts, though, and Mike started to worry. “El? Hey?” he whispered.   
She shook her head, just as she was realizing in that moment that Mike had been staring at her and she blushed furiously.   
Okay. That was definitely weird.   
“Is everything okay?”  
“Yes, yes I’m good.” She answered, holding his hand again and pretending to be relaxed.   
But Mike knew her way to well: she couldn’t lie to him.   
However, he waited for the movie to end and for the two of them to get outside of the theater.   
El was quieter than usual and that made Mike know that he was right: something was bothering her.   
They approached his bike but, before she could hop on it, Mike took her hand.   
“El, come on, what is that?”   
“What do you mean?” she said, not really looking at him.   
“You know what I mean. What’s the matter?” Mike stroked one of her cheek in the gentlest way possible and he took her chin between his fingers to meet her eyes.   
She didn’t talk right after and Mike let out a little groan of frustration.   
“Look, El, you can talk to me, really. If something’s bothering you, I-”  
“Why don’t we kiss like that?!” she suddenly cut him off, still avoiding his gaze.   
Mike blinked his eyes in disbelief as he heard her words and he had to think about what she had said for a moment, not getting the point.  
“What?!” he almost screamed the moment after.   
“Why don’t we kiss like that?” she repeated, now really looking at him.   
Mike covered his eyes with one hand, trying as hard as he can to not get more frustrated and said:  
“El, really, I don’t understand. Would you please explain t-”  
“I mean ...” she cut him off again, this time almost whispering. “I mean that … you know, those guys in the movie … they … well, they kissed in a different way compared to us, like … like more? I don’t know, it’s … I don’t know I’m just confused about that.”   
Mike was listening to her, becoming redder every second, as he started to understand what the matter was.   
“El, listen-”   
“And it’s not just today, I’ve seen it in almost every single thing I’ve watched on tv and the guys who did that always seemed to like it a lot and I was just wondering … well …” _-Oh, those dams soaps_ \- Mike thought in that moment.   
“Well … why?” she ended then, with her cheeks now as red as Mike’s.   
The boy took a deep breath, looking up at the blue sky for a moment and trying to look for the best way to explain ... well … what that meant.  
“El, look … Come with me, sit down with me.” Mike led her to the bench that was right beside the theater’s entrance and, after they sat there, he covered both of her hands with his.   
“El, it’s not that we can’t kiss like that, you know? It’s just … well, oh God how can I explain that?”   
El was looking at him, curiosity running all over her face and Mike smiled ‘cause he couldn’t help it.   
“That …that kind of kiss … Well, that’s called ‘French kiss’ and it’s something that you do with a person that’s really special, just like normal kissing.”   
He began, trying to sound as relaxed as he could, even if he was dying inside for the embarrassment.   
She deserved an explanation, though. She had never had it.   
“Then why we had never done that?” El asked then, frowning a little bit.   
“I … I guess it’s kind of a more ‘mature’ thing, in some way, ya know? And I just … I guess I thought that if I tried that, I would have gone too far. I didn’t want for you to feel uncomfortable. Not at all.”   
While hearing Mike confession, El started to smile because of how caring he was.   
“Thank you, Mike.”  
“No need to thank me. And, well … It’s not that I don’t wanna do that. With you, of course.” He said back, smiling as well and placing his arm around her shoulders.   
“Then, why you’re not doing that?” she whispered, after a few seconds of silence.   
Mike’s jaw almost dropped when he heard that, but when he turned to her and saw that she was starting to lean in, he had to admit to himself that she was being totally serious. So, he followed his instinct.   
He leaned in as well, feeling her warm breath on his face, until their lips met in a soft peck, as always.   
They kept going like that for a while, peck after peck, not really knowing what to do, until El, remembering one of the last episodes of “Guiding Light” she’d seen, throw both of her arms around Mike’s neck, getting so close to him their chest was now touching as they were still kissing softly.   
Mike’s eyes widened at her actions but, lost in the moment, he held her as well.   
Then, he slowly started to open her mouth with his own and took her lower lip between his teeth, biting it lightly: both of their bodies exploded in goosebumps because of that new contact.   
Mike smiled against her lips and he was just about to make the next step, when a well-known voice interrupted them. “  
Ohh, gross, you guys come on!” They almost jumped away from each other, still sitting on the bench while Dustin, who had just talked, was staring at them with a disgusted expression on his face. Behind him, standing on their bikes, there were Will and Lucas, with the same kind of expression, but laughing for the weird situation.   
Mike was still breathing heavy from the kiss, but, after a moment, he rolled his eyes and looked at Dustin in annoyance.   
“Well, you could have just ignored us!” he snapped.   
“Oh, well, sorry for being a polite friend!” Dustin said back, mocking him.  
“Well, actually good manners say that you should leave your friends alone when they’re busy with their girlfriend.” El suddenly said.   
Everybody looked at her in disbelief: she’d never been that sassy, that was something new.   
“Wow, El, you definitely spend too much time with our boy Mike here.” Lucas said, with a grin.   
They all burst into laugh at that, included Mike, that took her hand in his once more, feeling happy and grateful to have her and almost forgetting about their ‘interrupted-almost-make out session’.   
There would have been many more occasions to practice, he thought, biting his lips.  
  



	5. Warm, hot water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lessons and some more summer fun ;)

"Okay, that's fine, just a little further..."  
"Like this?"  
"That's perfect El! You're doing great!"  
The Sun was shining bright that Friday morning there in Hawkins, Indiana.   
The whole town was filled with people and noises of every kind and dozens of colorful decorations were literally everywhere, from the houses' doors to the store windows.  
Hell, yes: that was definitely the "4th of July is coming" time of the year.  
But that didn't matter for Mike and El: they were far away from the crowded streets that morning, just behind Hopper's cabin, in the woods.   
Mike had come to visit her, as always, but El could tell that something was definitely up with him.  
He just could not contain his excitement and his eyes were sparkling like they did every time the boy had something his mind.  
In addition to all of that, El immediately noticed he had brought some stuff with him, like a bag and also a thing that El thought really looked like a giant donut.  
"What's all of this?" She had asked, as her curiosity was raising every second more.  
Mike had looked down, grinning, and then had said:   
"I'm gonna teach you how to swim!"  
 Mike had started to think about teaching her for a while now, 'cause he really wanted her to enjoy her first summer of almost freedom in the best way possible: it really affected him when he had seen her sad face last week, while all the Party was heading towards the water at Lovers Lake.  
"What's wrong El?"  
"I ... I don't know how ..."  
No more words were needed back then, as he had sitten next to her on the grass, holdin' her and trying to cheer her up as much as he could.  
But now, things were about to change.  
Hearing what he wanted to do that day, El had started to become a little nervous, even though she really wanted to learn so she could have finally go to the Lake with her friends and Mike.   
However, he had immediately noticed the sudden change in her expression, so he had taken her by the hand, smiling softly.  
"We don't have to do that if you don't want to. We could just, like, hangin' out or watch some movie instead."  
As he was saying those words, El's face had softened as she smiled wide to her boyfriend: he was always so caring she didn't really know how she got that lucky.   
Before saying anything, she had gotten closer to him, pecking his lips in the sweetest way possible.  
-Fireworks- this was what Mike thought while kissing her back.  
Actually, that was his thought every time he was kissing her.  
When they had eventually parted, El had bitten her lower lip, saying:  
"Thanks Mike, that's very sweet. And ... Yes, I want to know how to swim."  
"Great! Come on, go change, I'm gonna wait right here."  
So, there they were, completely immersed in the clear water of the small pond behind the Cabin.  
Mike was holding El by her waist as she carefully moved her arms and legs just like the boy was telling her to.  
"Okay, El, that's great. You're such a fast learner!"  
"Really?" She said, with bright eyes.  
"Of course you are. Give yourself a week to exercise and you will be the best swimmer here in Hawkins."  
El laughed hearing his words and she tried to move a little forward, moving her legs in circles.  
"Mike, I want to try to move alone. Just a little bit."   
Mike looked down at her, with his hands still holding her firmly and a little worry in his eyes.  
"Are you sure, El? You're already making a lot of progress for being the first time you swim, you can wait if you want."  
"I wanna try Mike. Just for a minute, please?"  
Oh no, she was giving him that look. The one that made his legs weak every single time.  
"Mmm... all right. But If you feel tired or anything I will be right behind you. Okay?"  
"Promise."  
Mike let her go then and she started to move her arms up and down, moving forward slowly.   
He had his eyes stuck on El, so that he could immediately catch her If needed, but also because he just couldn't help it: she looked beautiful with her wet hair and red cheeks, surrounded by the water and starting to have the time of her life.   
"You are seriously the most beautiful girl I have ever seen."  
He didn't realize he had just said that out loud until he noticed El's gaze  on him and her surprised expression.  
Not that he wouldn't tell her she was beautiful, but she probably didn't really expected it in that moment.  
Seeing her  Mike face went immediately bright red.  
"Oh ehm...I mean ... Well you are, you really are you ... seem so happy."  
El smiled, looking at him with deep eyes, and going closer and closer to him, swimming graceful like she had done that for a lifetime.  
"Wow, you really have talent for that." He said in a whisper, as she kept getting closer.  
"You're a great teacher." She whispered back.  
They were now standing on their feet, with the water that was hiding them except for their faces and upper bodies.  
Mike got lost in her, just as it happened every time she was this close to him, and he started to close the small distance between them, until their noses touched.  
"You're cold." She said chuckling.  
Mike looked at her in a teasing way, before capturing her lips in a passionate kiss.  
They had just started to explore more of their physical relationship, so those kind of kisses were still something new and enough to make their whole bodies exploding with goosebumps.  
Mike held her tight, putting one of his hands through her light locks and the other one on the small of her back, caressing her bare skin.  
Their mouth were moving fast, hungry for each other, opening and closing at their own well known rythim.  
El got closer, hugging him with both of her arms and stroking his cheek gently as he felt Mike's tongue shyly touching her bottom lip.  
Her body immediately responded and she made the same things, deepening the kiss even more.  
That was one of the actually really rare occasion they had to be that close in a physical way, 'cause most of the times they were with the others or, worst, under Hopper' supervision.  
But now, under that blue summer sky and surrounded by nothing but warm water and trees, it was just the two of them.  
After a while, they were both in need of some air, so Mike slowly started to end the kiss, not without pecking her one last time.   
They kept staying close, hugging and with their foreheads touching, in a beautiful silence.  
Then Mike, after giving one more kiss to her cheeks, said, whispering in her ear:  
"See? Not that cold anymore."


	6. Baby, you're a firework

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little angsty, but with an happy ending ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone <3  
> This was written after a request on Tumblr for the prompt "please, just look at me".  
> Hope you all will enjoy it and many thanks to all of you for your lovely comments.

"El! El, where are you going?"  
Mike was running through the trees that surrounded Lovers Lake, breathless and full of frustration.  
"I'm going home."  
El, on her side, was running as well, faster than him, the tears running down her cheeks.  
That really wasn't the way they had both planned their night together to go: the plan was to meet at the Cabin, going downtown to get something to eat, meeting the others to fool around at the Fair for a while and, hopefully,  getting some time alone to watch the Fireworks for the 4th of July from the Lake's shore.   
-That's the best spot to enjoy them, trust me- Mike had said to her the day before, while they were talking to each other on the phone.   
-It's gonna be awesome-  
Well, they had actually had a good time : they'd had fun, getting popcorns and cotton candy and going all together on the Ferris Wheel. Both Mike and Lucas had even managed to get El and Max something with the (guns).  
Then, short before ten, Mike and El had headed to the lake, walking hand in hand.  
It truly seemed like the perfect night.   
Except it wasn't or, at least, for Mike it seemed like it wasn't.  
El had noticed that he had been weird for the whole time: he was constantly shaking his leg, something he only did when he was nervous, and it just seemed like he was somehow... distant.  
He hadn't listened to her like he did everytime, he had often let her hand go, with his mind busy in who know what.   
And even then, when there were just the two of them at the lake, he had barely said a word.  
"Should we sit here? Would it be okay?" She had tried, smiling in his direction and squeezing his hand.  
"Uhm?"  
"Mike?"  
"Oh.. ehm, yes, yes, that's totally fine."   
He hadn't even looked at her in the eyes, while biting his lips in a nervous way.   
El had definitely started to worry at that point.  
They had sitten on the grass, next to each other and Mike hadn't even tried to kiss her or hug her. Nothing at all.  
-Did I do something wrong?- she had started to think.  
Then, she had turned to him, noticing his weird expression, like he was trying to say something but he couldn't find the words.  
"Mike? Is everything okay?"  
"What? Yes, yes I'm fine..."  
But he wasn't fine at all, he had never acted like that when he was with her.  
"Are you..."  
But she hadn't been able to finish her sentence, 'cause the booming in the sky had just started.  
She'd looked up, watching all of those colorful explosions for the first time in her life.  
She had to admit they were truly beautiful, but, at the same time, the loud noises they made everytime they exploded was kind of ... scaring her in some way: too many bad memories were related to this kind of noises.  
Her breath had started to become heavier, as she felt her heart beating faster and the panic beginning to affect her.  
She'd tried to calm down, looking around her to see all the other calm people that were sitting by the lake and to convince herself there was nothing to worry about.  
But some different kind of feeling had then started to rush through her body: all the people surrounding them were couples as well and they were all enjoying their time together, taking pictures and kissing. Something she and Mike would have done as well in a normal situation. Something she had to admit she hadn't stopped thinkin' about since the first time Mike had mentioned the fireworks thing.  
Why was Mike acting like that? Why couldn't they just enjoy their rare time alone together?   
Was he trying to break up with her? Was it that why he looked like he was trying to find the words to say?  
All of those doubts had made tears starting to stream down her face and the increasing fear of losing Mike mixed up with the loud explosions was just too much to handle.  
She had stood up, without saying a word, and she'd started to run like never before.   
It took a second to Mike to notice that, coming back into reality after being lost in his thoughts for way too long.  
"EL!" He had screamed, his eyes suddendly filled with terror.  
And there they were, running after one another.  
"I'm going home, Mike" She repetead, not even turning around.  
"What?! Why?" He asked, his eyes wide in confusion.  
"El. EL! Stop! Please, just stop, come on!" He kept saying, noticing she wouldn't answer.  
"Why should I?" -she snapped then, turning around to look at him, but keeping the distance- "You didn't even seem to notice I was right next to you until now!"  
"Wait ... what? What are you talking about?"  
"Oh, what am I talking about? Are you serious?"   
She was really getting angry now, as the frustration was filling her.   
Mike looked at her in confusion, trying to reach her through the wood.  
"El, really, I don't understand, would you please..."  
"Are you breaking up with me?"  
Hearing that, Mike's heart dropped and his mouth opened in disbelief.  
"What?!" He almost whispered, scared to even think about that.  
She looked away, feeling the tears that were coming again, and she bit her lip.  
Mike felt his heart breaking at her sight and he tried to hold her, but she avoided his touch: now he was the one on the edge of tears.  
He let out a sigh.  
"El, what the hell are you saying?"  
"Exactly what you heard!" She was fully crying now, her eyes puffy and red.  
"You hadn't said a word to me for the whole evening. You didn't answer to not even one of my questions. And everytime I'd tried to get closer to you or to hold you or whatever you just moved away. And then I got damn scared of these noises and didn't know what to do cause you were there but you actually weren't! "  
She cried her heart out, screaming, without looking at him in the eyes.  
"And for the whole damn time you were just wondering what to say to me cause it's so obvious you don't want to be with me anymore and ..."  
"El..."  
"...and I just, I don't ..."  
"EL!"  
Mike screamed with his heart this time to stop her rambling.  
She shut her mouth as she cried again and again, with her eyes firmly fixed on the ground.  
Mike took a step forward, getting closer to her and managing to put his hands on her shoulders.  
"El? El, please. Please, just look at me!"  
She hold her breath, looking up at her boyfriend, and noticing he had tears going down on his cheeks as well.  
"You're right, I've been a shitty boyfriend tonight. And I'm so, so sorry you can't even imagine how much." -he started, as his hand went up to  
cup her cheek and to caress her gently.  
"I've completely ruined your first fireworks. I'm an idiot."  
El's face started to soften as she heard his words.  
"And you're right: I was trying to say something to you. I thought about it every minute of every day for the past few weeks..."  
El's heart started to beat faster: what was he trying to say?  
"...and I made up this whole night cause I wanted it to be perfect in every way. But I screwed up. And I feel so bad for it."  
He was now cupping both of her cheek, his forehead touching her as he kept crying.   
"El ... what I wanted to say is ..."  
"What, Mike?" She whispered, her whole body shaking.  
"I ... I love you, El."  
El felt like the whole world had stopped, yet it was spinning around faster at the same time.  
Mike loved her: he loved her. And that wasn't one of her recurrent dream. He did love her and he was saying that to her.   
"And I known, I know we're only fourteen and stuff like that, but I feel that, El. I know that I love you and I can't Help it. And, as cheesy as it sounds, I think I do love you since the very first time."  
"Mike..."  
" And you don't have to say it back right now, not at all. I know that's a lot, Big step and everything, but I just couldn't hold it back and..."  
"I love you too, Mike" She said then, with the biggest smile through the tears that were now joyful.  
Mike closed his eyes for a moment, just to feel the moment, and he smiled back, laughing and crying at the same time as well.  
"I'm so stupid." He said then.  
"I am too. I'm sorry for what I thought. I was just so scared that..."  
But Mike didn't let her talk for a second more: he kissed her with all the passion he could, tasting her tears and love, yes love, with his lips.  
El kissed him back immediately, feeling the usual butterflies, but even more.   
-yes- she thought- I like this kind of fireworks way more-


	7. 'I remember everything.'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little missing-moment, with our favorite kids being adorable.
> 
> it takes place during the night after the Gate's closure.

The first time he remembered seeing the dawn had to be around Second grade, when he was just a little kid with hair much messier than now and a true obsession about ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture’.  
He hadn’t been able to sleep, that night, probably because of all the Coke he’d drunk at dinner or maybe because of the thunderstorm that was pouring down on Hawkins since the evening before   
He hadn’t looked for his mother, though. Not even for Nancy, who was in the room just in front of his one.  
He had just run down to the living room, curling up in a blanket and sitting down on his dad’s chair.  
The huge window that was right in front of him gave him the possibility to look outside, to a view that was brand new for his eyes.  
The sky was deep-blue, with some shades of purple, and a pale, red-kind of light: he remembered staying there, with wide eyes ready to capture that sight and to keep it in his memories forever.  
That morning, however, things were different, but almost the same, in some way: Mike saw the same purple paths in the sky, but it wasn’t the thunders’ noise that was keeping him awake, this time.  
No: it was a different kind of fear.  
He was just a thirteen years old kid, but the things he had seen in the last twenty-four hours and during those days the year before were enough to handle for a lifetime.  
And yes, he was scared, so scared: the tears started running down his cheeks and he couldn’t help it.  
He turned his head, looking at his hand, that was now holding the one of the girl sleeping next to him, on the couch in the Byers’ living room.  
He somehow managed to smile, holding her even tighter, and getting closer to her, like his whole life depended on that.  
And, maybe, that was the truth.  
Mike had felt like he’d just started to breath again only after seeing her walking into that house the night before.  
-I called you every night. Every night for …-  
-353 days. I heard ... -  
The tears became more and more just by thinking about her words, her voice and her beautiful eyes that were so full of unexpressed words and pain: the same pain he knew he had in his own eyes as well.  
“Mmm …Mike?”  
For a brief moment, Mike thought he’d only imagined her voice next to him, just like every other time he’d found himself laying down in the little fort, trying to reach her with the super-comm.  
Then, he turned around to meet her eyes, that were now open and a little puffy; Mike laughed, noticing the mascara that had escaped from her eyelashes and was now laying on her cheeks.  
He gently tried to take some of that off of her face, rubbing her cheek lightly and making her smile softly.  
“I …I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up. You should rest, ya know?”  
“Yes, but …” she was barely audible, even in the silence that was filling the room.  
“But?” Mike tried, without letting her hand go.  
“I … I don’t know, I just … I know you’re here and … I wanna …”  
She didn’t manage to say all that she wanted to, but that was enough for Mike to understand.  
He always understood, when it came to her.  
“Yeah. Yeah, I know. I want that, too.”  
It was just: they needed that, just a little moment for them to actually realize they could talk to each other for real, and to feel each others’ presence.  
353 days would have been too much for everyone, let alone for two kids like them.  
El smiled at him, as she started to caress his wrist gently, making him blush a little, on his cheeks and, in some way, on his heart, too.  
Suddenly, her hand started to trace a path down his arm, focusing on a spot where a light scar was.  
She frowned, keeping her eyes on that same spot, and Mike started to feel a little nervous.  
“Oh ..Uhm, that? It’s nothing, I just kind of … well …”  
El didn’t say anything and just kept stroking him, waiting for him to keep going.  
“…Well, I actually tried to join the boxing team … I needed something to … Well, to keep my mind occupied with, I guess. And one day I just … I don’t know what I was trying to do, actually, but I … I hit the gym’s wall with my arm and I …”  
“… And you … hurt you? And you put that …white stripe on your arm for a while.” She finished his sentence, leaving Mike with his mouth wide open in surprise.  
“El, what …”  
“That was day 209.” She said then.  
He didn’t care about the tears that came down, this time.  
He stopped her hand, making her look at him in the eyes and finding the same tears on her face too.  
He gently wiped away all of them with his thumbs and he put his forehead on her’s.  
“You ...”-he started, with a voice so broken he could barely recognize it himself -“You remember that?”  
She held him, putting her hands, that were now trembling, around his neck.  
“I remember everything.”

**Author's Note:**

> That's it guys! :)  
> Feel free to let me know what you think and I'm open to suggestion and prompts are welcomed! :)
> 
> Love you <3  
> Giulsy


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